When performing subsea operations there is often a need to move solid material, commonly denoted “bulk material” or “bulk”. This may occur during leveling a terrain, trenching of ditches, embedment of pipes and cables or removal of ballast gravel. Corresponding needs may also occur in connection with work at or near a quay, harbour or dam installation.
In many cases the bulk material is comprised by compact silt, clay or other hard bulk materials which involves a number of challenges, primarily due to the hardness of the material which make it difficult to disintegrate.
At the same time the bulk material includes fine particles that lead to reduced visibility when dispersed or dissolved in water. Furthermore it may be a problem that the material is broken into rather blocks that are hard to move. These problems are added to high demands of precision with respect to the work performed, in order to e.g. avoid damage to fragile installations.